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Course Assignments and Associated Points

Course Point Summary

Course GoPost

Grade Conversion Chart

 

Advanced Psychobiology of Women

Assignments:

1. Pick a topic: Any topic related to biology or psychology of women and/or gender is legitimate. All topics have to be approved by Dr. Kenney and by the class as a whole. Once the topic is selected it will be posted on the course GoPost board.
Send a brief description of your topic to Dr. Kenney so it can be included on the GoPost site.

2. Research your topic: Use all the resources the library has to offer to find material related to your topic. I will be glad to help if needed as will the Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies and Psychology librarians. You'll meet the GWSS librarian early in the quarter. Very little of your information should be gleaned from web sites alone. (This does not refer to academic papers available on the web through the library web site.) Academic journals are the best sources of information. Academic books are next. Popular books are useful only to determine what the general populace is reading. Additional research will be needed to determine whether the information in such books is accurate.

There will be a library research training session specially designed for this course on Monday, January 9, during our regular class time. For this session we will meet in the Government Publications Instruction Lab, Ground Floor, Suzzallo Library.

3. Annotated bibliography assignment: This assignment is to be completed for day that we do not meet as a class (1/11).

Assignment:
Locate and read 3 articles on your topic. For each article read, send the following information in an e-mail or as an attachment to nkenney@uw.edu:

A. Complete bibliographic information on the article (Author(s), title, source, year, volume, start and end page numbers)
B. A list of 2-4 things you learned about your topic from the article. Do not pull these from the paper's abstract. Look in the introduction and results/discussion. If they come from the background/introduction, you'll want to go on to read the paper the author(s) cite(s) related to those facts.
C. Bibliographies must be e-mailed to Prof. Kenney by 8:30 AM the following day (1/12)
Points: 2 per article - 6 points total)

4. Read: There are two sides to this. Most reading will be done on your topic. But, you will also be asked to read one article related to each topic covered in class, i.e., two articles per week.

5. Select an article for the class: This must be available at least 10 days (preferably 2 weeks) before your presentation so that we all have a chance to read it. The selected article should provide the proper background or mind set for your presentation. If the article you select is available electronically (e-journals from library), the reference can be posted on the course web site. (Send it to me and I’ll post it.) If it’s not available electronically, we may be able to scan it into a pdf file or you can provide a Xerox copy for each class member. (Points: 3 for providing the paper at least 10 days before your presentation and 5 additional points based on the usefulness and quality of the selected reading. See outline-article grading rubric for point breakdown)

6. Post questions or comments on upcoming topics on the course GoPost: Once the topics for the course are determined, you can begin to post questions about that topic on the course GoPost board but it is best to wait until the article for the topic is made available. BUT - don't skip posting because an article gets to you late. Each student is expected to post at least one question or issue that you would like to learn about each topic on the course GoPost Board NO LATER THAN 5 DAYS PRIOR TO THE SCHELDULED PRESENTATION DATE. Due dates are found on the table on the schedule page of this web site and next to each topic on the GoPost site. You will receive up to 2 course points for every topic for which you post questions or comments.
No posting = 0 points
cursory comments indicating no effort or thoughtful commenst posted late = 1 point
thoughtful questions or comments posted on time = 2 points.

GoPost comments can earn up to a total of 28 points throughout the quarter.

Click here to access GoPost

Presenters should attempt to respond to each of the posted questions or comments in their presentation/discussion. Some questions may not be answerable! But read them and address as many as you can.

7. Presentation: Each seminar participant will have an entire class session for their presentation. This will be a formal/informal lecture/discussion on the topic you select. Visual aids (overheads, PowerPoint slides, films) are good but films should not take up more than 15-20 minutes of your presentation time. I’ve reserved computer presentation equipment for all sessions but I rather not drag it to class if no one is going to use it. ( Points: 40 - See presentation grading rubric for point breakdown.) Failure to attend on the day of your presentation, except in the case of illness and/or serious emergency, could result in loss of all presentation points for the quarter.

8. Outline of presentation: This is very important. The outline you provide will serve as the notes that each seminar participant will have on your topic. The outline needs to be detailed and each idea needs to be clearly referenced so that the reader will have no trouble tracking down the source. On the day of your presentation, bring enough copies for each student and me. (Points: 20) I judge outlines about 1 week after the presentation. The qualities of importance are:

1. the clarity of the information presented. Can I understand what you are saying one week later when I don’t have you in front of me presenting the material? (10 points)
2. the clarity of the referencing. Can I tell exactly where you found each idea you present? (10 points)
See outline-article grading rubric

9. Participation: Be involved in discussions of all topics. Discussion is a critical aspect of the seminar format and facilitates learning in this setting. ( Points: 3 for each in-class session, total participation points = 45 )

10. Paper: A ten page critical review of your topic. The content will be the same as your outline and presentation but the language and structure of the paper should be more formal and referenced in APA style. The paper is due at the last class meeting (3/7/12).

Instructions for APA style can be found on the Psychology Writing Center web site:

http://web.psych.washington.edu/writingcenter/

This site also includes information on how to write a review paper. Click here to access their handout. The Psychology Department Writing Center is an excellent resource and will review drafts of your paper if you schedule an appointment. More information of the center and its hours are on the web site listed above. Other Writing Centers are also available to help. (Points: 40See paper grading rubric for a point breakdown.)

11. Peer editing of classmate’s paper: You will be responsible for reading and reviewing a draft of the paper prepared by your assigned presentation mate. You must provide a draft of your paper to your partner no later than 2/29/12. Drafts must be returned to the author with comments no later than 3/2/12. Transfer of papers and editing/comments can be carried out electronically. Papers can be sent to your partner by e-mail and editing can be done using the reviewing toolbar in WORD. Reviewers should evaluate spelling, grammar, paper organization, flow of arguments, and referencing. A copy of the draft submitted for review (with the reviewer's comments and editing) along with the reviewer’s name and comments must be provided with the final version of the paper. If the paper is reviewed in hard copy, the hardcopy with reviewer comments should be submitted with the final draft. If the paper is reviewed electronically, the reviewed version should be forwarded to nkenney@uw.edu on or before the paper due-date. (Points: 5 based on timeliness of feedback, thoroughness of review and evidence that the reviewer took a serious interest in helping the writer do an excellent job.)

12. Grades: Course grades will be based on the percent of total possible points earned with 96% of the total possible points equaling a 4.0 for the course. Course grades will decline by 0.1 grade points for each percent decline in points earned. This course will have a maximum of 195 points.

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Course Point Summary Chart

  Points
GoPost Comments 28*
Participation 48^
Annotated Bibliographies 6
Reading Provided 8
Outline 20
Presentation 40
Peer Review of Paper 5
Paper 40
Total 195

* you will automatically get credit for comments on your own presentation topic.
^ 3 points each for each in-class session.
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Grade Conversion Table:

% total Possible Points Points Course Grade
96% and up 187 and up 4.0
95% 185-186.5 3.9
94% 183-184.5 3.8
93% 181-182.5 3.7
92% 179-180.5 3.6
91% 177-178.5 3.5
90% 175.5-176.5 3.4
89% 173.5-175 3.3
88% 172-173 3.2
87% 170-171.5 3.1
86% 168-169.5 3.0
85% 166-167.5 2.9
84% 164-165.5 2.8
83% 162-163.5 2.7
82% 160-161.5 2.6
81% 158-159.5 2.5
80% 156-157.5 2.4
79% 154-155.5 2.3
78% 152-153.5 2.2
77% 150-151.5 2.1
76% 148-149.5 2.0
75% 146-147.5 1.9
74% 144-145.5 1.8
73% 142-143.5 1.7
72% 140-141.5 1.6
71% 138-139.5 1.5
70% 136.5-137.5 1.4
69% 134.5-136 1.3
68% 132.5-134 1.2
67% 130.5-132 1.1
66% 129-130 1.0
65% 127-128.5 0.9
64% 125-126.5 0.8
63% 123-124.5 0.7#
62% 121-122.5 0.6
61% 119-120.5 0.5
60% 117-118.5 0.4
59% 115-116.5 0.3
58% 113-114.5 0.2
57% 111-112.5 0.1
56% and below 110.5 and below 0.0

# Note: All grade points less than 0.7 are reported as 0.0 to the registrar

 

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Contact the instructor at: nkenney@u.washington.edu